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Monday, 1 September 2014

SASCOC is trying to strong-arm a National Federation

The South African Sports
Confederation and Olympic Committee has once again attempted
to use strong arm tactics to bully a National Federation into
toeing its line. Despite a number of recent legal setbacks,
SASCOC has decided to continue to flirt with the law, this
time by using the constitution of Mind Sport South Africa, a
totally different legal entity, to suspend the MSSA Secretary
General, Mr Colin Webster. The fact that MSSA has not taken
any action against Webster has not prevented SASCOC from
attempting to suspend him using the MSSA constitution.

SASCOC did not even bother to contact the MSSA's president,
Mr. Simphiwe Maphumulo, and advise him of their actions.

Webster has been a vocal
critic of SASCOC’s actions in recent years. However the
Constitution of the Republic of South Africa
guarantees the right to freedom of expression. Despite that
constitutional right, SASCOC seeks to discipline Webster for
exercising it.

Most recently, in his
capacity as Secretary General of MSSA, Webster has been the
author of correspondence to SASCOC in which they challenged
SASCOC’s right to suspend MSSA without being given a hearing
or any compliance with the principles of natural justice. MSSA
is awaiting SASCOC’s response to queries raised in terms of
the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act. Again, the
Constitution guarantees a right to administrative justice.
Instead of answering the issues MSSA has raised, SASCOC
instead has tried to unlawfully suspend their
Secretary-General.

This latest action can
only be seen as more high handed action on the part of SASCOC
which is relentless in silencing all possible dissent.

The current action by
SASCOC shows exactly what SASCOC is trying to do. SASCOC is
trying to take over every aspect of South African sporting
body so that they can have entire control every sporting code.